Warriors: The Darkest Season
Sorry this took so long… I forgot, really, so sorry. :(
CHAPTER EIGHT
The next day was relatively uneventful, given the circumstances. Larkleaf set out for Highstones that night, along with the other medicine cats, and Merrypaw wondered what the outcome would be. Did RiverClan's and WindClan's ancestors know the answers that ShadowClan's and ThunderClan's seemed to lack? Were StarClan just waiting for the medicine cats to come to the Moonstone before speaking? Only time would tell.
Everything seemed to be slowly getting back to normal in the ShadowClan camp. Only just that morning, Thornpaw had rambled on about how handsome and powerful Smolderfur was, while Merrypaw had pretended to listen. Lionblood was spending all of his time with Brookheart's kits, while Badgerfur was ignoring Merrypaw just as much as ever. The most noticeable difference in camp, however, would never go away.
It was clear that both Birdsong and Merrypaw were still grieving Smallsun very much, and Birdsong especially showed her sadness often. Merrypaw wondered if her mother would ever again be truly happy, or if her son's death had ruined her entire life. The brown apprentice thought that if Birdsong kept this up, she'd probably be sent to the elders' den before she knew it.
Merrypaw tried to take her mind off of the recent, bloody events, but it was extremely hard, especially when her own brother had been victimized. Even when she could manage to think of things other than her littermate's death, she was usually trying to decide who the culprit was, and always found herself unable.
That night, as she lay down in her nest within the sheltering branches of the apprentices' den, Merrypaw went back over every cat that could have been responsible, trying to decide who she wanted to suspect for now. The first cat her mind turned to was ThunderClan's deputy, Lightningpelt.
Thornpaw insisted that Lightningpelt, with his mysterious ways, was an obvious suspect, but Merrypaw refused to listen to her. Every time she thought of the ThunderClan deputy, she felt strangely calm and peaceful. Sure, he was mysterious, but in a good way.
And anyway, Merrypaw thought, Thornpaw shouldn't be so quick to judge. If there's any cat who seems a little suspicious, it's Smolderfur. She immediately felt guilty for thinking that way about a Clanmate, however, and so scratched that thought from her mind.
Snowstorm was the next cat that came to mind. He seemed extremely hostile and unfriendly, but in the end, Merrypaw decided that that simply made him like Rushpelt, and that the killer would probably be a bit more discreet anyway. If they are a Clan cat, she thought bitterly, they're probably pretending to be nice and friendly so that no one suspects them.
That ruled out Snowstorm's Clanmate, Mintheart, as well as several other cats. Merrypaw wouldn't even begin to consider the cats higher in rank, like the slightly edgy Flowerstar or the suspiciously open Lizardstar. It would be disrespectful – and besides, she didn't think that a leader could get away with murder, anyway. Someone would know, whether it was a Clanmate or StarClan.
Suddenly, Merrypaw had a horrible though. What if it was Badgerfur?
She didn't want to believe it, but right now, her father was the most suspicious cat she could think of. Why else would he hate her? Why else had he glared at her after Smallsun's death? For that matter, why else wasn't he grieving his son like a father should? His only words to Brookheart had been, "I'm sorry" – hardly what a father would say when his son was freshly murdered.
Merrypaw's heart felt like it was twisting into knots. Could it be true? Was her father really a killer? When she finally drifted to sleep, her only dreams were fitful nightmares, filled with images of Badgerfur stalking her, pouncing, stalking…
The next morning, Merrypaw and Thornpaw woke up early. Thornpaw turned to Merrypaw and asked, "Do you think we should go see what StarClan told Larkleaf?"
Merrypaw nodded without thinking. The truth was, if Badgerfur really was the murderer, she didn't even want to know. However, she wasn't about to tell her horrifying suspicions to Thornpaw. Not only would her best friend decide it really was Badgerfur without proof and probably also insist that hedgehogs had begun to fly, the thought that Badgerfur was capable of such horrible things was too much for Merrypaw herself to bear. She would never confirm these fears by speaking them aloud, even if she was wrong in the end.
Thornpaw scrambled out of the bramble bush, and Merrypaw followed. The two apprentices made their way to Larkleaf's den, where the tabby medicine cat was sorting herbs. "Larkleaf! Larkleaf!" called Thornpaw, skidding to a halt only just before she landed in and scattered a pile of catmint. Merrypaw came to a stop more slowly behind her.
"What is it, Thornpaw?" asked Larkleaf, looking up from her supply of dock leaves.
"What did StarClan say to you, Larkleaf?" the silver apprentice asked, her light green eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"It's not a ShadowClan cat," Larkleaf said calmly. "StarClan also told Clearwater that they're absolutely sure it's not a WindClan cat. Briarcloud and Milkberry didn't get any answers, though, and neither did their apprentices, Blazepaw and Daypaw."
"So that means it's either ThunderClan or RiverClan," mewed Merrypaw, relief flooding over her. If the killer wasn't a ShadowClan cat, then they couldn't be Badgerfur.
"I knew it was Lightningpelt!" Thornpaw meowed excitedly, bouncing from one paw to the other excitedly.
"It is not!" Merrypaw exclaimed. Why couldn't Thornpaw leave Lightningpelt alone when it was obvious that he was a good cat?
"Well, why do you –"
"It could have been a rogue as well," pointed out Larkleaf, sounding just as collected as ever, "or even a very aggressive kittypet."
"Well, I guess you're right," Thornpaw admitted, sounding a bit disappointed. Merrypaw rolled her eyes as her friend's ears and tail drooped.
"Hey, Merrypaw! Thornpaw!"
Merrypaw turned to see Smolderfur standing nearby. "We're going on a border patrol!" he called. "Do you want to come?"
"Um, sure!" Merrypaw yelled back. Thornpaw nodded enthusiastically, suddenly looking cheerful again. What a mouse-brain, thought Merrypaw.
Thornpaw bounded forward excitedly, nearly crashing into her mentor and then nuzzling his shoulder affectionately. Smolderfur looked disgusted and quickly stepped a few pawsteps away, almost causing Thornpaw to crash to the ground. "Stonewing is coming, too," he informed the apprentices, looking only at Merrypaw as he said this.
"Great," Merrypaw meowed. She rather liked Stonewing. He was a very kind cat, and when both of them wanted a piece of fresh-kill, he always let her choose first. Merrypaw could see why he was Stripedstar's best friend – he was caring and loyal, and would probably become leader someday.
"We might run into a hunting patrol while we're out," Smolderfur warned them. "Yellowtail, Badgerfur, Foxfang, and Birdsong left a little while ago, but they should be coming back soon."
"Birdsong?" mewed Merrypaw with surprise. "Well, I'm glad she's getting out again, at least. I was afraid Stripedstar would put her in the elders' den if she didn't start being a bit more active."
Smolderfur merely nodded. Thornpaw, who still seemed a little annoyed at being nearly tossed to the ground, said nothing.
"Hey, guys!" called Stonewing from somewhere nearby. Merrypaw looked around and finally spotted the grey tom running towards them. "I'm sorry I'm late," he panted as he approached the rest of his patrol. "Brookheart asked me to get a herb from Larkleaf for her."
"Is something wrong?" Thornpaw asked, her voice filled with shocked concern.
"No, everything's alright," Stonewing reassured her. "Your mother just needed a little help getting her milk to flow, that's all."
"Wow," Thornpaw replied. "I didn't even know that happened. Having kits sounds like a lot more work that I'd realized."
Stonewing nodded. "It is. When Frostpool and I first had Lionblood, Clawpaw, and Berrypaw… well, they were Lionkit, Clawkit, and Berrykit back then. Lionblood and Berrypaw were always getting into mischief, and Clawpaw scratched Frostpool all the time." Sadness shone in Stonewing's blue eyes. "I only wish that he'd been able to become a warrior – he and Berrypaw would have both been so good at it."
"It's okay," Smolderfur mewed, much to Merrypaw's shock. "I'll bet they've already had their warrior ceremonies in StarClan."
Merrypaw realized that she was staring at the smoky grey warrior with disbelief, and she wasn't alone – Thornpaw and Stonewing were equally surprised.
"Well, erm…" stammered Stonewing, forcing himself to look away from Smolderfur's surprisingly indifferent face. "I suppose we'd better go on that patrol now."
Stonewing padded out of the bramble tunnel, and Smolderfur followed. Thornpaw dropped back to join Merrypaw as the two apprentices reached the tunnel. "Well, that was… odd," she whispered.
Merrypaw nodded in agreement. "I wonder what else will happen today?"
As the two of them slipped out of camp, Merrypaw realized that she didn't particularly want that question to be answered.
Next chapter will be a really interesting one, promise! Everything will start coming towards its conclusion soon – but that doesn't necessarily mean the story is almost over, it's just approaching its second half. Who do you think the killer is? Tell me who you suspect in your review, please! I'd really like to know – but I won't tell you if you're right or not!